Soccer Culture

With the Timber’s first win stirring up Portland soccer fans last week, Kevin Carroll’s exhibit The Power of Sport + Play at Mercy Corps’ Action Center gallery could not have been better timed. The author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball knows exactly how sports can empower a community just as they have electrified Portland.

Carroll’s exhibit features a mixture of sports media including books, paintings, "dream boxes," inspirational quotes, and balls from around the world. Hidden in gym lockers are mementos from Carroll's life, each with different themes such as his first childhood book Where the Wild Things Are as well as memorabilia from his time as the Philadelphia 76ers trainer. The exhibit ranges from Carroll’s own personal life as well as from inspirational athletes, philosophers, and international communities with a common denominator of sport and play. 

Carroll kicked off the exhibit this past Tuesday night in a special lecture about on his own background as well as his philosophy that a ball can change the world. Sport and play bring people together by breaking down prejudices and creating a common ground. Carroll simplified the idea of sport being an amazing medium for communication because, as he put it, "We all speak ball."

Carroll’s exhibit The Art of Sport + Play is on view April 4 - July 31, 2013 during Mercy Corps Action Center hours 11am – 5 pm, Monday – Friday. For more information on Carroll and his inspirational story, visit his website. To learn more about the Portland Timbers pillar partner Mercy Corps, visit them here.

Tyron and his family were recipients of the Spread the Love welcome packet for the April 6th match against Houston.

Long-time Timbers season ticket holder and Axe Society member, Tim Birr, nominated Tyron. Tim has been a familiar face in the North End since 2001, and is a member of local drum and pipe band that has performed at many Timbers matches over the years.

Tyron is a long-time soccer fan, who saw his first Timbers game when he was a young boy. Because of his work schedule, he has been unable to attend a live MLS Timbers match, usually watching the television recording the next day.

Thanks to Tim’s nomination, Tyron was able to bring his wife, daughters, niece, and nephew to their first Timbers game.

We caught up with Tyron after the Houston game to ask him about his family’s experience at the match:

What was your reaction when you received the Spread the Love welcome packet?
I was overwhelmed at the amount of tickets I received. My wife and I both work and it's a struggle to see a Timbers match live. I grew up playing soccer at the age of five and most of the Timbers games I watched have been recorded from the night before, and I usually get up before the kids are awake and watch the games. To be able to take my children to the game was very special because I got to see my first Timbers match at their age.

What were you most looking forward to about attending a Timbers match?
Being there to watch the game live with other fans and knowing the excitement fans have at soccer match.

Describe your experience attending the game?
Sitting there with my wife and daughters meant the world to me. Growing up loving the game and knowing now that my children have seen a Timbers game they will become fans for life. The most excitement of the match was when the Timbers scored and my kids screamed with excitement! They truly enjoyed the match.

What does "Spread the Love" mean to you?
Spread the Love means an opportunity to become a bigger fan of the Timbers then I already am. I've watched and attended other sporting events, and appreciate the Timbers taking the time for people in the community that wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to see a match by giving them free tickets. Spread the Love means to me that the Timbers are really part of my community.

Winning Instagram from March by @didikimm

It has been said that soccer players are creatures of habit. Most have their matchday routines, and few stray from their superstitious rituals for fear of angering the soccer gods.

Some eat the same pregame meal, while others have a particular order in which they dress. From an outside perspective it might seem odd, but to the rest of us it’s part of the game.

For fans, it’s no different. Superstitious by nature, many fans have a pregame ritual they abide by. Stumptown Coffee Roasters want to know what your ritual is. Do you wear the same faded t-shirt or frayed scarf? Do you and your friends bike to the match? Share it with us.

Throughout the 2013 season, the Portland Timbers and Stumptown Coffee Roasters are asking fans to share their pre-game rituals for the first home match of every month. All you have to do is Instagram a shot of your morning pregame ritual and share it with the hashtag #SCRTimbers.

One random fan will be selected each month to win a prize pack from Stumptown and the Timbers that includes:

• One (1) Signed Timbers Jersey
• One (1) 12oz bag of Kenya Gaturiri Coffee
• Two (2) Stumptown Coffee Roaster Mugs
• One (1) Stumptown Branded Red Rooster Hand Mill Grinder

Last month, @didikimm won the Stumptown & Timbers prize pack for her Instagram of Timbers fans braving cold weather and long lines to get into JELD-WEN Field prior to the season opener. This month, it could be you. 

For full contest rules, click here.

Bless Field plan courtesy OPI

A ball, some kids, and a place to play. When you get down to it, soccer is a simple game.

However, sometimes finding that place to play becomes a challenge.

The good folks over at Operation Pitch Invasion have set out to change that. OPI, a tightly connected affiliate of the Timbers Army 107 Independent Supporters Trust, has been working since 2011 helping repair soccer fields throughout Portland as well as fundraising for the creation of whole new ones. 

Their next project is Bless Field at New Colombia. As their release says: "Bless Field is uniquely situated in a neighborhood where children from 22 countries, who speak 11 languages (plus the common language of soccer), take their first steps into integrating into the larger community." The Portland Timbers Community Fund has come on board with a commitment and OPI is organizing a very unique event to raise further funds that is sure to entertain the hardiest of Timbers fans:

“Beating Seattle Never Gets Old”
Thursday April 4; 7:00 pm
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd
$12 in advance; $15 at the door

Hosted by 5 Minutes to Kickoff's Bob Kellett and Steven Lenhart, the evening is a gathering of past Timbers greats from the NASL era including Willie Anderson, Bernie Fagan, Roger Goldingay, Mick Hoban, Bill Irwin, and Jimmy Kelly talking about great moments of Timbers history.

Come see highlights of the Timbers playing against Pele and his Cosmos in Portland in 1976; the Timbers playing the Chicago Sting at Wrigley Field in 1982; and, in an extended cut, the Timbers playing the Seattle Sounders in a playoff semifinal before a record crowd in Portland in 1975.  

It's a special night with some rare footage, great stories, and every penny raised goes straight back to Bless Field. Only 350 tickets are available, so get yours now.